


under the same sky

by aozu



Category: Free!, ダイヤのA | Daiya no A | Ace of Diamond
Genre: Alternate Universe - Idols, Love Confessions, M/M, Pining, Songfic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-01
Updated: 2017-07-01
Packaged: 2018-11-22 03:13:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,858
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11371410
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/aozu/pseuds/aozu
Summary: Idol AU, where Haru and Furuya are the idol unit NIX.“Then I guess,” Miyuki sighs, standing up with a stretch to his back before tucking his hands into his pockets. “It’s time to be brave.”





	under the same sky

**Author's Note:**

> I shamelessly inserted the idol au thing I drew for their birthdays inside

It’s still a bit weird to acknowledge that Furuya is a pop idol singer.

Miyuki’s always known Furuya as the ‘rookie with the fastball that makes my hand hurt’ and ‘the pitcher that won’t leave me alone’ and ‘the junior who sleeps anywhere’ and also ‘the shirokuma otaku’. Those impressions stayed with him even when Furuya came to the Tokyo university he was in and they played again as a battery. But somewhere, _somehow_ after baseball season in Furuya’s second year, the pitcher gets scouted by a talent company.

He’s not sure why Furuya even tried it out. Perhaps the other’s parents thought it couldn’t hurt, or maybe Sawamura egged him to go for it on a dare; Furuya has never showed interest in that sort of thing, but Miyuki knows he’s easily influenced by the people around him. A few years later and Miyuki now finds himself in the front row seat in Tokyo Dome, amidst the screaming fans and ear-blasting music and the sweat and the screaming, oh god the _screaming_ —he still thinks it’s kind of _weird_.

There are, of course, a couple of other reasons for that besides the fact that he’s always thought Furuya would choose to go pro in baseball instead of performing on stage.

One is that Furuya debuted with a _doppelganger_. Miyuki could not have made this shit up; the other male has the same hair colour, the same eye colour, the same soft quality in his voice, the same tendency to ignore everyone when he doesn’t want to listen, the same stoic aura—the list is endless. The only difference is that Furuya is taller than the other.

Two, Miyuki has never thought Furuya can sing. Or dance. It sounds horrible in hindsight, but Furuya’s always kept his mouth shut unless he’s answering someone. He’s never even caught Furuya humming in the baths, and he’s shared common baths with Furuya for four years. Also other than baseball related movements, the other is kind of clumsy. Miyuki’s seen him tripping over low steps around campus, both Seido and university, all the time.

It turns out that Furuya _can_ sing—he can hold a pitch easily thanks to the piano lessons he took when he was younger, his soft pure voice makes people cry when he’s singing a ballad, and perhaps most (un)surprisingly, Furuya’s voice can be loud and piercing, just like his fastball, when he wants it to be.

When Furuya, bathed in the harsh spotlight on stage and his sweat, finally lets the last note that he sings dissipate into the air, Miyuki lets out a slow controlled breath he didn’t know he was holding. There’s one second of complete silence as it sinks in before the audience starts yelling and screaming again; Miyuki closes his eyes and tries to shut out the noise, but person sitting next to him makes it extremely difficult.

“FURUYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA—!” Sawamura screams, jumping out of his seat and waving his lightsticks frantically in the air. “FURUYA! FURUYA! FURUYA!”

Miyuki stays in his seat as he claps, steadfastly ignoring the embarrassment beside him. If the other is too wild, he’s sure Haruichi will stop him first. It’s been a few years and Furuya always gives him, Sawamura and Haruichi tickets to his concerts, but Miyuki will never get used to how _enthusiastic_ Sawamura is during them, complete with _wotagei_.

Then, as if not to be outdone by Sawamura’s screaming in a race to burst Miyuki’s ear drums first, another voice screeches from two seats away on his right.

“HARU! YOU WOULD’VE SANG THAT PART BETTER!”

The male seated on the left of the redhead unabashedly jabbing his lightsticks at the duo on stage hides his face in his hands. “Rin—“

“KNOCK HIM OUT IN THE NEXT SONG, YOU HEAR ME??? HARU, OI—“

“Rin, they’re singing _together_!”

“I WON’T LOSE TO HIS LOUDASS FANBOY OVER THERE SO YOU BETTER _MMPPHHH_ —!”

Miyuki glances over to see that the other person on the redhead’s right has clamped a hand right over the redhead’s mouth, who’s struggling angrily in return. That is also, unfortunately, a common occurrence. Just as Furuya always invites him, Sawamura and Haruichi, Furuya’s doppelganger colleague also always invites his three friends. Well, Miyuki has also met two others—a short happy blonde and a more uptight tall guy in red glasses—on several occasions, but they don’t stay in Tokyo.

Perhaps Miyuki should start with the name of the doppelganger: Nanase Haruka.

Basically, he’s a shorter version of Furuya with a creepy obsession with swimming. Or water. Miyuki’s not sure which, but it’s the actual reason why their unit is named NIX—after shape shifting water beings from Germanic mythology. Nanase gave a compelling pitch about how the image they were selling was very much like water—calm, cool, but also forceful and overwhelming—and Furuya just…nodded after Nanase looked at him for support, and that was that.

Nanase always gives his tickets to Tachibana, the guy sitting on Miyuki’s right, Matsuoka, the redhead who yelled with zero sense of shame, and Sousuke, the person who understood what shame was and muffled Matsuoka.

Miyuki’s not sure when or _why_ it ever became a competition between Sawamura and Matsuoka about their devotion (?) to their best friend, but he’s seriously considering asking Furuya for a ticket with a different seat number next time. It seems like Tachibana is thinking of the same thing with his face in his hands.

Despite the ruckus, the duo on stage don’t bother to grace their yells; instead, they wave shyly (well, Furuya waves shyly, Miyuki’s never seen Nanase shy, not even when Miyuki walked into the dressing room once and accidentally found him stepping into a pair of boxers) at their audience until the noise dies down enough for them to speak.

“We’re reaching the end for today,” Nanase says into his microphone, and the audience whines in protest. “We have one more song left, which is a new one.”

Excited murmurs arise; a new song release?

Nanase lowers the microphone a little to glance at Furuya, who simply gives him a small nod after a three second silence. Miyuki forgot to mention another reason why this twin unit is so weird: they communicate without speaking, like with telepathy or something. He thinks it’s because neither of them want to open their mouths and they just guess, unconcerned if they’re really reading each other right, but other times like now; what the heck does that nod mean?

Nanase lifts the microphone again to his mouth. “It’s one of the side songs for the next single we’re releasing,” he says, gaze flickering to where Miyuki is for a quick second. “But it’s…special. I hope you like it.”

The audience don’t get a chance to react as the violinist on stage begins with a sharp clear note that blends into a sad tune before the piano and drums join in. While Fururya adjusts his earpiece, Nanase visibly takes a breath and another glance to the first row before straightening up, fixing his gaze to somewhere much further back.

“ _That smile I just saw_ ,” Nanase starts with closed eyes, a low husky quality to his tone, “ _May be the last I ever see…_ ”

Nanase’s voice has always been rather similar to Furuya’s; sometimes, their songs sound like it’s sung by one person, but this time, there’s a tinge of _something_ in it that makes it distinct, hauntingly beautiful with the melody.

_“Even watching you talk with someone else would be a cherished second—“_

As Nanase holds his note, Furuya lifts his microphone to his lips, hand pressed against his earpiece. _“In this word where our lives hold less weight than a feather…”_

It carries seamlessly in the air, clear and cutting to the goose bumps erupting on Miyuki’s skin.

_“We managed to meet because you were the meaning of my life—“_

Nanase hasn’t opened his eyes yet, mouthing the lyrics soundlessly to himself even though it’s not his verse to sing. It’s painfully obvious that when the other had said ‘special’, it was special…to him.

“ _This pain,”_ Nanase comes in right on the beat, letting his voice reach higher than Furuya’s, _“Is the axia of my heart—“_

It hits Miyuki then, that this is a love song.

Perhaps it’s stupid that he realises it only now, but he doesn’t mean it in the way that Furuya and Nanase have sang those cheesy ‘I love you I’ll cherish you forever’ or ‘Don’t break up with me I’ll do anything’ type of generic pop beats. This is something with a specific message.

This is a love letter.

_“You soar through a one-way sky with a slight fever, becoming a merciless rainbow that fades instantly—“_ the duo on stage take a simultaneous breath, _“Seeing you so far off…I love…”_

The drums and piano still abruptly, leaving the violin melody hanging in the still air.

_“—and hate you…”_

Miyuki finds himself unable to tear his gaze away from the stage, feeling like the atmosphere iss shrinking and enlarging at the same time. Beside him, Sawamura is oddly silent for once, and there’s a weird tension that Tachibana is giving off; but he doesn’t dwell on them, eyes following the singers’ movements. Furuya shuffles half a step closer to Nanase, who’s gripping his microphone tight enough to drain the blood from his knuckles.

Maybe, Miyuki thinks, the reason why Nanase has his eyes closed is because he’s afraid.

_“Born into this world alone,”_ Furuya begins this time, lifting his head to let his voice sound out louder, _“We’ll all end up dying alone but nonetheless we can’t live alone…”_

Even though it’s a personal song for Nanase, Furuya is singing like he means it too. There’s longing under those words, just like that brief expression Furuya wore all those years ago in the practise hall watching their teammates laugh and joke with him on the outside.

_“Our frequencies will yearn for one another—”_

_“Our feelings of love permeate our throbbing wounds…”_ Nanase continues, _“Filling them with that one phrase we can never manage to say—”_

Miyuki doesn’t realise he’s had his mouth apart all this while until Furuya shifts his gaze to meet his. It’s quick, doesn’t linger for more than a second, but Miyuki finds himself swallowing anyway, only to find that his throat is dry. Furuya then flickers his line of sight to watch Nanase instead, as though to watch for the next cue.

The melody bleeds quieter and slower, and Furuya opens his mouth for bridge with a tight concentration to reach the right pitch. _“I’ll never remember you again—“_

_“Because I’ve never forgotten you, not even once—_ ”and Nanase sings over him, their voices resounding together perfectly in harmony that drips with emotion.

_“This pain is the axia of my heart—  
You soar through a one-way sky with a slight fever, stealing my love away…_

_It’s enough to leave me in despair—  
Even if this love remains unfulfilled…_

_Even if we’re far apart...”_

For the first time in the song, Nanase cracks his eyes open, gaze settling to the front row where Miyuki is sitting, and Miyuki watches Furuya do the same.

_“I love…—and hate you…”_

The last line is quiet, almost whispered, with no acoustics in the background but it rings louder than anything else Miyuki’s heard all night.

Nanase is still staring at him—at them, or really, he’s staring at Tachibana. Of course he is. Miyuki’s always assumed or suspected with the way Tachibana spoils Nanase, but he didn’t realise it’s the other way round. And Furuya’s looking at his own bunch of friends too; Haruichi, Sawamura, and…and straight at Miyuki.

Blood thuds in Miyuki’s ears, and it makes him deaf to the thunderous applause that bursts out a second later. Even as everyone around them stand up to scream or jump or yell their praises, Miyuki stays seated, because he doesn’t think he can stand. He’s not alone; Tachibana also stays in his seat with his head bowed and hands clasped tightly together like he’s struggling to breathe.

On stage, Nanase and Furuya hold hands before bowing and saying their sentences of appreciation to their fans. Their expressions are blank as though it is ridiculous to think they can ever sing an emotional song like they did barely thirty seconds ago. They bid the audience a good night, come back for the obligatory encore before their real thank you speeches, and then the lights are switched on as the cue for the end of the concert.

“I don’t have any more tissues left, Rin,” Yamazaki says, and Matsuoka flips him off while viciously rubbing his eyes. “Stop crying already.”

“Screw you,” Matsuoka sniffs, “You understand, right, Makoto? It really fucking—…Makoto?” he frowns when the brunette doesn’t answer. “MAKOTO!”

“—U-uh, what?” Makoto jolts, whipping his head up fast. “I’m sorry, what did you say?”

“I said,” Matsuoka huffs, crossing his arms. “You understand, right?”

“Understand what?”

“The song.”

“What—“

“The new song,” Matsuoka states, lips pursed. “It’s about you.”

There’s a heavy sigh from Yamazaki as Makoto yelps, eyes wide at his statement. Matsuoka just palms his face in his hands.

“Makoto, what the _fuck_ , you cannot be that—“

“I think,” Yamazaki interrupts, shoving his hand over Matsuoka’s mouth again. “We will find Haru backstage first. Come when you’re ready,” he nods, but it’s also directed at Miyuki for some reason.

“Shall we also look for Furuya-kun, then?” Haruichi pipes up, hand already gripping the back of Sawamura’s shirt. “Miyuki-senpai, we’ll head on first.”

Sawamura looks like he desperately wants to say something but his jaw is clenched shut; with every weird noise of protest that comes from his throat, Haruichi smiles wider and grips the other’s shirt more forcefully. Miyuki does not want to ask.

“Um, okay,” Miyuki says blankly as he watches the other four skip down the rows of seats to get to the exit.

It seems like everyone thought he and Tachibana needed some time—together? Who knows.

Miyuki sighs, slumping back into his seat. He idly watches the staff come to move things around the stage and deal with the sound equipment. When the concert hall is nearly empty, he looks over at Tachibana, who has tilted his head backwards to stare at the ceiling.

“Are you ready to go?”

Tachibana exhales pulling himself upright. He takes a moment.

“…Do you also think it was about me?” he asks, green eyes serious and unwavering as he looks at Miyuki.

“Yeah,” Miyuki admits, shrugging. “Do you…did you realise?”

Tachibana fidgets, touching his fingers together. “I…I had a feeling, but I just…I just can’t believe that…”

“That Nanase has a thing for you?” Miyuki questions bluntly, raising his eyebrow. “I think if it had to be someone who wasn’t a physical entity of water, it’d indubitably be you.”

“No, it’s more like,” Tachibana sighs, frustrated. “Maybe, I always _knew_ , but I just…what if I’m wrong? What if…it’s just _me_?”

“If it helps, I can tell you it’s not you,” Miyuki says slowly. “I know what I saw. I think Sawamura would say the same, and he’s as dense as a metal bat.”

Tachibana toes the ground for a few seconds in thought. “What about you?” he asks.

Miyuki blinks. “Uh, me?”

“If,” Tachibana swallows nervously, “If it’s obvious to you about Haru…then about Furuya-kun…he was singing it with you in mind.”

Miyuki scoffs immediately. “Don’t be ridicu—“

“I know what I saw,” Tachibana says over him and Miyuki snaps his mouth shut. “When can you believe it’s not just you, right?”

Miyuki purses his lips. It’s kind of like the time he wondered why Furuya gave him the ticket to the other’s first ever concert all those years ago. They had been playing as a battery for four years by then, but they weren’t particularly close outside of baseball. Furuya hung out with his own circle of friends in university. And yet, none of those friends were given a free ticket to come see his debut performance.

Furuya had simply said it was important to him that Miyuki was there, and Miyuki teased him about something before agreeing to go out of curiosity and respect for the hard work that Furuya had put in. There had been a nagging whisper about what Furuya meant by ‘important’, just like the time Furuya said he would be always be waiting to play with Miyuki again during Miyuki’s Seido graduation, or the time Furuya appeared amongst the freshman on his university field.

Maybe, like Tachibana, he’s always _known_.

“I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have brought that up,” Tachibana trails off quietly. “I’m. I’m scared. Of what I should do.”

“Then I guess,” Miyuki sighs, standing up with a stretch to his back before tucking his hands into his pockets. “It’s time to be brave.”

His own smile struggles to stay plastered on his face but he nudges Tachibana with his foot. Tachibana stares at the ground for a moment longer before pushing himself up.

“…I guess it is.”

**Author's Note:**

> The song is [AXIA～ダイスキでダイキライ～](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ShOwFHZ46YA) from Macross Delta. What a way to rip my heart out in episode ten…


End file.
